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snowpack

  • The beginning of the 2023 water year is off to a good start, reservoirs in the southwest will see some filling but may still be below average this year, calving season has been rough due to cold and wet spring weather, farm bankruptcies are going down, and census data show that the nation’s rural population grew slightly last year.
  • A look at what farmers may expect for their businesses in the coming year, the John Deere Corporation agrees to terms that would help farmers and independent repair shops to work on newer John Deere equipment, recent snow has bolstered the snowpack in western Colorado but much more is needed.
  • A new grant is expected to help tie up the deal to protect key parcels of land close to Mesa Verde National Park, according to the Public News Service. And January measurements show snowpack is above average for the Colorado River basin for this time of year.
  • Warmer days are here, and the snow that supplies most of the water to the Colorado River is melting. Our drought-stricken region needs all the water it can get. So as the last traces of winter come to a close in the mountains, KUNC’s Alex Hager tells us what we can expect for a summer in the Colorado River basin.
  • Snowpack levels in the Four Corners show small signs of improvement over last year, but some areas in the Southwest may face water shortages later this year. Avian influenza is affecting egg production, and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says "no" to opening reserve croplands.
  • Colorado Governor Jared Polis has been busy this past week signing several bills into law. Utah's snowpack is in dire shape and the state should expect a very dry summer.
  • Last week’s winter storm brought snowpack levels up to 85% of the seasonal median in the Dolores River Basin and the storm this weekend could bring levels up to 100% of the median. And law enforcement has detected a “particularly deadly” batch of the synthetic opioid Fentanyl circulating in San Miguel county.
  • The Bureau of Land Management will reassess its policies on oil- and gas-rich lands near the Navajo Nation, surrounding Chaco Canyon National Historical Park. And the new year has brought plenty of snow to the Mountain West, pushing snowpack totals above average across most of the region.